Hurdle Heights in Canada vs. College: What Canadian Hurdlers Need to Know Before Recruiting
The short answer
Canadian high school boys race their sprint hurdles over 36-inch (0.914 m) barriers in every province that publishes its specifications. American high school boys race over 39 inches, and NCAA and U SPORTS men race over 42. Canadian senior girls race over 30 inches in Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan, and over 33 in British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba and New Brunswick, the height American high school and NCAA women race. College coaches judge every recruit against the height they will race in college, so a Canadian's sprint hurdles time needs context before it means anything to them. Label every result with its height, race at the college height whenever you can, and lead with the events that need no translation.
One Ontario hurdler we advised ran 14.2 in the 110m hurdles in the summer of his grade 11 year. Six days earlier, in a U20 race, he ran 14.8. The second race was not a bad day. It was run over hurdles three inches taller.
His two times over two heights came up in almost every conversation he had with an American coach. One Division II coach told his family outright that he could not even look at a 36-inch result.
Here is what every Canadian hurdler and their parents should know about hurdle heights before the first conversation with a college coach.
Hurdle heights from Canadian high school to university
Heights change by age group, by province, and by country. The tables below cover the levels a Canadian recruit is most likely to race at, and the levels a college coach is recruiting for. Newfoundland and Labrador holds no hurdle events at its high school championship.
Sprint hurdles
| Level | Boys / men | Girls / women |
|---|---|---|
| Ontario high school, senior (OFSAA) | 110mH, 36" (0.914 m) | 100mH, 30" (0.762 m) |
| Quebec high school, juvénile (RSEQ) | 110mH, 36" (0.914 m) | 100mH, 30" (0.762 m) |
| Nova Scotia high school, senior (SSNS) | 110mH, 36" (0.914 m) | 100mH, 30" (0.762 m) |
| New Brunswick high school, senior (NBIAA) | 110mH, 36" (0.914 m) | 100mH, 33" (0.838 m) |
| British Columbia high school, senior (BCSS) | 110mH, 36" (0.914 m) | 100mH, 33" (0.838 m) |
| Manitoba high school, senior (MHSAA) | 100mH, 36" (0.914 m) | 100mH, 33" (0.838 m) |
| Saskatchewan high school, senior (SHSAA) | 100mH, 36" (0.914 m) | 80mH, 30" (0.762 m) |
| Alberta high school, senior (ASAA) | 100mH, 36" (0.914 m) | 80mH, 33" (0.838 m) |
| Athletics Canada U18 | 110mH, 36" (0.914 m) | 100mH, 30" (0.762 m) |
| Athletics Canada U20 | 110mH, 39" (0.991 m) | 100mH, 33" (0.838 m) |
| US high school (NFHS) | 110mH, 39" (0.991 m) | 100mH, 33" (0.838 m) |
| NCAA and senior | 110mH, 42" (1.067 m) | 100mH, 33" (0.838 m) |
| NCAA and U SPORTS indoor | 60mH, 42" (1.067 m) | 60mH, 33" (0.838 m) |
Long hurdles (400mH and 300mH)
| Level | Boys / men | Girls / women |
|---|---|---|
| Ontario high school, senior (OFSAA), 400mH | 36" (0.914 m) | 30" (0.762 m) |
| Quebec high school, juvénile (RSEQ), 400mH | 33" (0.838 m) | 30" (0.762 m) |
| New Brunswick high school, senior (NBIAA), 400mH | 33" (0.838 m) | 30" (0.762 m) |
| British Columbia high school, senior (BCSS), 400mH | 36" (0.914 m) | 30" (0.762 m) |
| Athletics Canada U18, 400mH | 33" (0.838 m) | 30" (0.762 m) |
| Athletics Canada U20, 400mH | 36" (0.914 m) | 30" (0.762 m) |
| US high school (NFHS), 300mH | 36" (0.914 m) | 30" (0.762 m) |
| NCAA and senior, 400mH | 36" (0.914 m) | 30" (0.762 m) |
Sources: OFSAA, BC School Sports, ASAA championship results, SHSAA handbook, MHSAA championships, RSEQ rules, Athlétisme Québec hurdle heights, NBIAA handbook, School Sport Nova Scotia rules, NLAA school provincials, Athletics Canada event specifications, Athletics Canada Technical Rules, NFHS specifications, NCAA Track and Field Rules Book.
Why hurdle heights matter in recruiting
A college coach looking at a high school sprint hurdler is making a projection. The question is how fast you will run over the barriers you will race for their program, and every result you send them is evidence for or against that projection. The closer your results are to the college height, the less the coach has to guess.
An American high school boy races over 39 inches. His times sit one step below the 42 he will race in college, and every college coach in the country has years of experience reading 39-inch times. A Canadian high school boy races over 36. His times sit two steps below, and most American coaches have never had to evaluate a 36-inch time before. Some will try. Some, like that Division II coach, will not.
Canadian girls face the same gap on a smaller scale, depending on the province. A senior girl in Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia or Saskatchewan races over 30 inches, and every NCAA program recruits her to race over 33. Girls in British Columbia, Manitoba and New Brunswick already race the 100m hurdles at the college height. Heptathlete Lily Stroda, now at Texas A&M, carried a 13.66 over 30 inches and a 13.90 over 33 inches into her recruitment, and her 33-inch time is the one run over the barrier she now races in the SEC.
There is no official conversion between hurdle heights, and it is not your job to make one. Stride pattern, height, and technique change how much a taller barrier costs each athlete, so any number you calculate is a guess the coach did not ask for. Report every result exactly as you ran it, label the height, and give the coach the rest of the picture.
How to present a time run over a lower barrier
Say your fastest 110m hurdles time is 14.2 over 36 inches and your fastest over 39 is 14.8. Both results are valid, but only the second one answers the question American coaches are asking. Take the 36-inch races off the top of your profile so the personal best coaches see first is a 39-inch time, and state plainly in your bio that you train over 39 inches year-round and are comfortable moving up to 42.
Then let your other events do the work. High school boys in Ontario and British Columbia race the 400m hurdles over 36 inches, the same barrier university men race, so a 400m hurdles time from those provinces needs no explanation at all. Your open 400m shows your flat speed, and an indoor 60m hurdles time shows where your sprint hurdling is heading. Coaches also ask about relays, so pitch yourself as a hurdler who can score in the sprints and on relay legs too.
The problem is solvable for every Canadian hurdler willing to plan around it. Kai Jenney, now a hurdler at Western University, did exactly that during his recruitment (read his full story). Here is how I put it to him on an October advising call:
"If the U.S. is a focus for you, then let's remove those 36s from your profile entirely, even if it moves your PR back slightly. What I'm hearing is that coaches aren't viewing your PR as a PR anyway. So all you're doing is adding time to the process on their end, and we don't want to do that. We'll use the bio and the highlight space to explain a little bit more about who Kai is and how confident he is with the higher hurdles."
Founder & Co-CEO | Recruitment Advisor, Streamline Athletes
How to present your hurdle times to college coaches
- Label the height on every result. A 14.2 with no height next to it will be read as a 39-inch or 42-inch time and judged against the wrong barrier. Your Streamline Athletes profile records the barrier height with each hurdle result, and the profiles we send to coaches show it beside every time. Put it in every email too.
- Your Streamline Athletes standards match your barrier. A 110m hurdles time over 36 or 39 inches, or a 100m hurdles time over 30, is measured against standards for that height, so a 36-inch time is never judged against a 42-inch standard. Your time itself is never converted.
- Put the right personal best first. The time at the top of your profile should be the one closest to the college height, even if a lower-barrier time is faster.
- Race the college height when you can. Athletics Canada U20 competitions run the men's 110m hurdles over 39 inches and the women's 100m hurdles over 33. Indoor 60m hurdles at U20 and senior meets get you closer still. One result at the right height does more for your recruitment than three faster results at the wrong one.
- Lead with the event that needs no translation. Boys who race the 400m hurdles in Ontario or British Columbia high school, or at U20, are already over the 36-inch barrier NCAA men race. Girls race the 400m hurdles over 30 inches at every level from U18 to the NCAA. Canadian U18 boys, and high school boys in Quebec and New Brunswick, race the 400m hurdles over 33 inches, so label those results too.
- Show your flat speed and your relay value. Coaches recruiting a sprint hurdler also want to know what you can run in the 100m, 200m, or 400m, and whether you can fill a relay leg. Versatility is the one big tip I give any high schooler who wants to be recruited.
- Say it in one sentence. A line in your bio saying you train over 39 inches year-round and are comfortable moving up to 42 answers the question before the coach has to ask it.
The U SPORTS difference
If you are weighing Canadian universities, the calendar changes the math. The U SPORTS national championship is held indoors in March, so the sprint hurdles race that counts at nationals is the 60m hurdles, run at senior heights. There is no 400m hurdles at U SPORTS nationals, and outdoor racing happens through club and Athletics Canada competition instead.
That can shape your choice. At a U SPORTS program, a hurdler gets an indoor varsity season over the 60m hurdles and an outdoor season with a club. If you are still deciding between the two systems, start with why you should consider a U SPORTS program and how athletic scholarships compare in Canada and the United States.
Frequently asked questions
What height are high school hurdles in Canada?
Senior boys race the sprint hurdles over 36 inches (0.914 m) in every province that publishes its specifications: over 110m in Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, and over 100m in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Senior girls race over 30 inches (0.762 m) in Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan, and over 33 inches (0.838 m) in British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba and New Brunswick. Alberta and Saskatchewan girls race an 80m hurdles instead of the 100m. Newfoundland and Labrador holds no hurdle events at its high school championship.
What height are high school hurdles in Ontario?
At OFSAA, senior boys race the 110m hurdles and 400m hurdles over 36 inches (0.914 m). Senior girls race the 100m hurdles and 400m hurdles over 30 inches (0.762 m). Junior and novice divisions race shorter hurdle distances, and some race over lower barriers.
What height are college hurdles?
NCAA men race the 110m hurdles and indoor 60m hurdles over 42 inches (1.067 m) and the 400m hurdles over 36 inches (0.914 m). NCAA women race the 100m hurdles and 60m hurdles over 33 inches (0.838 m) and the 400m hurdles over 30 inches (0.762 m).
Do college coaches convert 36-inch hurdle times?
There is no official conversion. Some coaches will estimate one, and some will not evaluate a 36-inch time at all. Report every result as you ran it, label the height, and get at least one result at a U20 or senior height as early as you can.
What height do American high school hurdlers race?
Under NFHS rules, American high school boys race the 110m hurdles over 39 inches (0.991 m) and the 300m hurdles over 36 inches. Girls race the 100m hurdles over 33 inches and the 300m hurdles over 30 inches.
Does U SPORTS hold an outdoor hurdles championship?
No. The U SPORTS national track and field championship is held indoors, so the 60m hurdles is the sprint hurdles event at nationals and the 400m hurdles is not contested. University athletes race outdoors through club and Athletics Canada competition.
Get your hurdle times in front of the right coaches
Every Canadian hurdler faces some version of this problem, and every version is solvable with a plan. In a 1:1 advising session, we'll look at your results at every height, decide which ones lead your profile, and build a list of programs where your times, grades, budget, and location fit.
- Canadian athletes: book your advising session here and use promo code BM10 for 10% off your session.
- U.S. and international athletes: book your advising session here and use promo code BM10 for 10% off your session.
Keep reading:
- The Lead Leg: How Kailer Jenney Put Academics First and Chose Western
- Canadian U18 Record Holder Lily Stroda Commits to Texas A&M University
- How to build your college track and field target list
- Track and field college recruitment standards: what performances do I need?
- NCAA roster size and scholarship changes in track and field
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